


The Week We Waited

by unacaritafeliz



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-22
Updated: 2016-05-06
Packaged: 2018-06-03 19:06:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6622645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unacaritafeliz/pseuds/unacaritafeliz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Chat was still talking, but Ladybug had stopped listening and was silently considering his offer. She certainly wasn’t completely opposed to the idea of dating him. While she’d never openly admit it to his face, Chat Noir was cute, charming and funny, and he was the only person, outside of her parents and Alya, that she trusted with her life. In fact, the only problem she had with dating Chat Noir was that he wasn’t Adrien.</p><p>But then again, Adrien hadn’t exactly pounced on the opportunity to date her, had he? And surely it wouldn’t hurt to have a fall back option; something to distract her if Adrien said no? Besides she could learn be happy with Chat Noir. She knew she could."</p><p>[Adrien doesn't want to turn down Marinette until he's sure he can't have Ladybug. Ladybug doesn't want to turn down Chat Noir until she's sure she can't have Adrien.]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Monday

**Author's Note:**

> The love square is the most tragic thing ever.  
> If you don't think so, you're wrong.

Asking out Adrien Agreste had never seemed like a good idea to Marinette Dupain-Cheng. But after a bit of gentle prodding from Tikki and a lot of not-so-gently pushing from Alya, Marinette had to admit that maybe it wasn’t the worst idea in the world. After all, if she wanted to date Adrien, someone had to make a move so why couldn't it be her? So, she’d summoned all of her courage and texted the blonde-haired model to meet her on the steps after school. But now the sight of the boy approaching her made Marinette want to run and never looked back. Maybe she'd used up all her courage too early.

 “Hi, Marinette,”  Adrien said, smiling at her. Marinette almost forgot how to speak. The sound of her heart pounding in her chest made it hard for her to even think.

“H-Hi, A-Adrien,” she stuttered. In her mind, Alya and Tikki chastised her. Why was she nervous? She was Marinette Dupain-Cheng and she was Ladybug. She could do this.

“What did you want to talk to me about?” asked Adrien.

“Well I was wondering…” Marinette started nervously. She took a deep breath before continuing. “I was wondering if you’d maybe like to go out to the movies with me some time, or to dinner, or you could even come play video games at my house! No, that didn’t sound good enough. I just, I mean, like, would you like to go on a, a, date, uh, with me… I mean only if you want to. You probably don’t want to, with me, though, right? This is probably really stupid anyway and I'm wasting your time…”

“Marinette!” Adrien suddenly exclaimed, snapping Marinette out of her rambling. Her blue eyes travelled up to meet his green ones as he continued. “It’s not stupid.”

If Marinette thought her heart was pounding before, it was nothing compared to what it was doing now. He hadn’t immediately shut her down! Surely that was a good sign. For the first time, Marinette felt hopeful that maybe her crush on Adrien wasn’t quite as hopeless as she had thought.

“I’m really flattered, and I think you’re a really cool girl,” Adrien continued. “But I’m going to need some time to think about whether or not I want go out with you.”

Marinette deflated.

“Oh,” she managed.

“I’m not just saying that to be nice, Marinette.” Adrien continued. “You are a really great girl and I think maybe it’d be cool to go on a date with you but I just… I’ve never considered it before, you know? So, would you mind if I just took some time to think about it?”

“No! Sure! Of course!” Marinette exclaimed, slightly too quickly to sound entirely convincing. “Take as much time as you like!”

“Thanks, Marinette,” Adrien smiled at her. “I promise I won’t make you wait too long.  I’ll see you around.”

Marinette hardly knew what to think as she walked Adrien walk away. As soon as he was out of sight, she turned on her heel and walked into the school and into an empty classroom. She opened her bag and her small, red kwami instantly flew out.

“He didn’t say no, Marinette!” Tikki squealed, happily.

“He also didn’t say yes,” Marinette stated flatly, sitting down the stairs.

“He’s thinking about it,” said Tikki. “That’s a good thing!”

“Is it?” asked Marinette. “I don’t know, Tikki. He doesn’t love me. He doesn’t even want me. He just thinks he could. I just don’t know if that’s what I want.”

“It’s Adrien,” Tikki reminded her gently.  “He is what you want. So maybe he didn’t think about you before. He’s going to think about you now. And he’s going to love you.”

Marinette scoffed. “How do you know?”

Tikki laughed. “Because you’re Marinette! Everyone loves you!”

Marinette laughed, feeling slightly better. “Thanks, Tikki.”

“Now come on,” laughed Tikki, nuzzling against Marinette’s cheek. “We’ve got to meet that silly cat for patrol in an hour and we’ve got to go drop all our stuff off at home first.”

* * *

 

“Everything looks good tonight, Chat,” Ladybug said after their patrol had ending. She prepared to swing away from her leather-clad partner. “I think it’s time to head home.”

“My Lady, wait!” Chat Noir called after her. “I have something to ask you.”

Ladybug stopped and looked over at him. “Okay. I’m all ears.”

“I was wondering if you’d maybe like to go out with me some time?” Chat asked, quickly. “We could go as our hero selves or our civilian selves; it doesn’t have to change anything if you don’t want it to! You don’t have to go out with me, of course, but I’ve been wanting to ask you for a long time and this thing happened to me today that made this seem like the perfect time to ask and…”

Chat was still talking, but Ladybug had stopped listening and was silently considering his offer. She certainly wasn’t completely opposed to the idea of dating him. While she’d never openly admit it to his face, Chat Noir was cute, charming and funny, and he was the only person, outside of her parents and Alya, that she trusted with her life. In fact, the only problem she had with dating Chat Noir was that he wasn’t Adrien.

But then again, Adrien hadn’t exactly pounced on the opportunity to date her, had he? And surely it wouldn’t hurt to have a fall back option; something to distract her if Adrien said no? Besides she could learn be happy with Chat Noir. She knew she could.

Ladybug finally pulled herself out of her thoughts to see Chat Noir staring at her, a mixture of worry and confusion on his face. Right, she was supposed to answer him, wasn’t she?

“Chaton,” she began, not missing the way his eyes lit up at the fondness in her voice. “Do you think you could give me some time to think about this?”

“Oh,” he managed. Ladybug realised he must be feeling the same way she did when Adrien had told her that he needed to think about it.

“I’m not saying no!” she said. “I’m just saying… It’s more complicated than you realise. It’s about our identities and our feelings and so many more things I just can’t tell you about right now. I just don’t know if it’s the right thing for me, or for us, right now. I just need more time to think it over.”

“How long do you need?” he asked.

Damn. That was a good question. She should’ve asked Adrien that one.

“However long it takes?” she tried.

There was a moment of silence where she looked at him and he looked at her and Ladybug was sure that in a second he was going to tell her that her answer wasn’t good enough, that he wouldn’t wait for her to think about it, that she had to say yes now or he’d retract his offer forever.

She wasn’t quite comfortable with just how sad the thought made her.

“Okay,” Chat said, finally. “Let me know when you figure your answer out, okay, Ladybug?”

It was weird hearing him call her Ladybug; not Bugaboo, or My Lady, just Ladybug. She wasn’t sure she liked it.

“Okay,” she said.

He was off the roof before she was, and she let her eyes follow the cat, watching him bounce from rooftop to rooftop, until he was out of sight. She promptly turned on her heel, and swung towards her own bedroom, her transformation releasing as her feet touched the floor.

“Tikki, what is happening?” Marinette said, collapsing dramatically into her bed. She had changed into her pyjamas before transforming into Ladybug, and therefore was thankfully still wearing them now. “How did I go from having no romantic prospects to having TWO in just one day?”

Tikki giggled, settling down on Marinette’s head. “I wish we could tell Alya!”

“Oh my god, she’d freak!” Marinette laughed. “Now I just have to wait to see what Adrien says before I can give Chat Noir my answer.”

“I hope he doesn’t take too long,” Tikki said.

“I hope so too,” agreed Marinette, suddenly sombre, as she curled up under the blankets. “I don’t like keeping Chat waiting for an answer. Especially since I know how awful that feels.”

“I’m sure Adrien will answer you soon!” Tikki answered, helpfully, moving to her small bed on Marinette’s bedside table. “Maybe even tomorrow at school! But there’s nothing to do now but wait. You should get some sleep Marinette, it’s been a big day.”

“Yeah,” yawned Marinette. “Goodnight, Tikki.”

“Goodnight, Marinette.”

 


	2. Thursday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ""Maybe if I did get akumatised I'd be able to kill Adrien without you stopping me," Alya muttered.
> 
> Marinette gasped and squeezed her best friend's arm more tightly within her own. Alya honestly was the best - a little over dramatic, perhaps, but the best. Marinette's considered her best friends words. Maybe she was right. Maybe Marinette's did deserve better than waiting this long for Adrien to give her an answer (and, added the voice in her head that sounded too much like Tikki, Chat Noir definitely deserved better than waiting this long for Ladybug to give him one.)"
> 
> [Three days later and Marinette is still waiting for Adrien's answer, which means that Chat Noir is still waiting for Ladybug's.]

Tikki had been too optimistic. Adrien didn't reply the next day, or even the day after that. Marinette had locked eyes with her classmate only once over the course of the two days, and Adrien had given her a sad smile before slightly shaking his head. It wasn't a no, Marinette knew him well enough to understand that, but it wasn't an answer. He was still thinking about it. She wanted to talk to him, wanted to ask him what he was waiting for, but she was too afraid to. She could hardly look at him, let alone talk to him.

 

By Thursday, Marinette was losing hope and Alya was losing patience. As Adrien stood up to leave after their last class, she saw Alya stand up, determination on her face, anger in her eyes and the beginning of Adrien's name forming on her lips. Panicked, Marinette yanked her best friend down. Alya squeaked in surprise, and Adrien and Nino managed to leave the classroom before she could recover.

 

"Alya!" Marinette hissed, as soon as Adrien and Nino were out of sight. "Please calm down!"

 

"Sorry," said Alya, standing up to leave the room. 'But Adrien is being a Grade A douchecanoe right now."

 

"H-he's thinking about it," Marinette tried, as the girls began to walk out of the classroom. She'd meant to sound stronger and more defensive, but her voice gave away how unsure she was.

 

"Girl, what is there to think about?" Alya seethed. "Either he wants to try this or he doesn't. He doesn't need 3 days to give you an answer. That's just plain rude. You deserve better than this. You know you do."

 

"Alya, please calm down," Marinette repeated as she linked arms with her friend. "It's okay, really. You're going to get yourself akumatised if you don't stop with these negative emotions and that's definitely the last thing anyone needs right now."

 

It was definitely the last thing Marinette needed right now. She had been lucky in that she hadn't seen Chat Noir since he asked her out, so she wouldn't have even been able to give him an answer even if she did have one ready for him. But she knew that even Ladybug's luck would run out eventually and that she'd eventually have to see her Kitty and say something to him. She just hoped Adrien would get back to her before that happened.

 

"Maybe if I did get akumatised I'd be able to kill Adrien without you stopping me," Alya muttered.

Marinette gasped and squeezed her best friend's arm more tightly within her own. Alya honestly was the best - a little over dramatic, perhaps, but the best. Marinette's considered her best friends words. Maybe she was right. Maybe Marinette's did deserve better than waiting this long for Adrien to give her an answer (and, added the voice in her head that sounded too much like Tikki, Chat Noir definitely deserved better than waiting this long for Ladybug to give him one.)

 

"Oh Alya, that's not necessary," she said. She took a deep breath before adding hesitantly, "Look, if he doesn't answer me by the end of the week, I'll… I’ll retract my offer to date him. Okay?"

 

Saying it out loud to Alya made it a permanent decision. Alya would definitely hold her to it. But it sounded wrong, it felt wrong. She might deserve better but she wanted Adrien. She'd always wanted Adrien. Surely she should be willing to wait for him?

 

Alya stared at her, eyes narrowed for a moment. "Fine, Marinette. But you're giving him too much time. He clearly doesn't deserve you."

 

"And I clearly don't deserve you," said Marinette, managing a smile at her best friend.

 

"Nonsense," Alya said. "You deserve so much more."

 

As the girls hugged, someone screamed.

 

"I am Temperature!" called the Akuma victim, a young woman covered in flickering red flames. "I’ll show you the true meaning of hot-headed!"

 

Ladybug's luck had run out. Marinette snuck a glance over to where Adrien and Nino were, but both boys had left when the Akuma had showed up. Guess she'd have to keep Chat waiting just a little bit longer.

 

"Alya! Come on, we've got to get out of here!' cried Marinette, pulling her best friend away from the fight as she looked for a place to ditch her and transform.

* * *

Temperature wasn't too tricky to defeat after Lucky Charm provided the duo with a fire extinguisher. It was lucky that her temper kept her focused on causing as much destruction as possible, rather than on taking the Miraculouses from the two heroes, because Chat Noir and Ladybug were definitely off their game. They were professional and focused as always, but it was painfully obvious to Ladybug that Chat was nervous about whatever conversation would follow their fight, and she couldn’t look at her partner without feeling guilty about having to tell him that he'd have to wait even longer.

 

"Bien joue," they said, quieter than usual, not quite able to meet the other’s eyes. He'd used Cataclysm and she'd used Lucky Charm, and both their Miraculouses were beeping. There wouldn’t be enough time for her to tell him everything she wanted to say. Ladybug snuck a glance at Chat. He wasn't looking at her, but he was also making no attempt to move, despite the warnings from his Miraculous.

 

"Looks like she couldn't stand the heat of the battle," she tried, hoping to get some sort of a reaction out of her partner. "She burned up too fast."

 

Chat looked at her. He didn't laugh. He didn't even smile. That wasn’t the reaction she was hoping for.

 

“Come on, let’s go up there,” Ladybug sighed, pointing to a nearby rooftop, where they’d be out of the way of civillians.

 

Chat nodded and extended his baton to reach the roof. She quickly threw out her yoyo to follow him.

 

"We don't have much time, Chaton" Ladybug remarked, as soon as her feet touched the rooftop.

 

"Have you thought about it?" asked Chat, quickly. Well, he was certainly braver than she had been with Adrien. She admired that about him.

 

"I need more time, Chat," Ladybug said. Seeing him about to protest, she cut him off. "And I know that's unfair but there's just things in my civilian life right now that's distracting me from everything else. And maybe one day I can tell you about them, but I just can't right now. I’m sorry.”

 

Chat sighed, his shoulders slumping forward. Ladybug had only ever seen Chat stand strong and confident. The contrast between this Chat and her usual Chat only made her feel worse.

 

“Ladybug,” Chat said. “I can’t wait forever.”

 

“I know,” Ladybug said. She paused, taking a deep breath before adding “I can promise you an answer by patrol on Monday."

 

Saying it to Chat felt different than saying it to Alya. It didn’t sound wrong anymore, it didn’t feel wrong anymore; not when she said it with her eyes locked onto Chat’s. She’d always wanted Adrien, but she’d be lying if she said that she didn’t want Chat Noir too. And maybe Adrien wasn’t worth waiting for, maybe he wasn’t worth losing Chat for.

 

Maybe Adrien wasn’t worth giving up a chance to be happy.

 

"Monday's a long way away," said Chat, softly.

 

"I know," Ladybug sighed, as her miraculous beeped again. "And I'm sorry, but it's the best I can do, Chaton."

 

His miraculous beeped again as they stared at each other. Ladybug felt as if their transformations would wear off before he answered her. She really couldn't decide if it would be worse for her to stay and let him see her as Marinette, or for her to leave before knowing if he was still willing to wait for her.

 

"Okay," he said, finally. "Monday, it is."

 

"Thanks, Chat," she said. “We should go, before...”

 

“Yeah,” he muttered, turning on his heel. “See you later, My Lady.”

 

Ladybug’s heart soared at the return of the nickname. She watched her partner jump from rooftop to rooftop. As soon as he was out of sight, she rushed away to hide before her transformation wore out.

 

“You really shouldn’t have committed yourself to Monday like that, Marinette,” gasped Tikki, as Marinette handed her a cookie. “What if you don’t have an answer by then? What if Adrien hasn’t answered you yet?”

 

“Then I give him up,” said Marinette, trying to sound confident and convinced.

 

But without Chat Noir there, giving up Adrien didn’t sound so easy anymore.


	3. Sunday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "She'd said she'd give Adrien until Monday, but she couldn't see a point waiting. He'd had all this time and he'd done nothing. He didn't actually love her, and it was taking him over a week to decide if he even wanted to try. That answered her better than words ever could. Besides, if she waited until tomorrow, she'd have to retract her offer in person, and she just wasn't sure she had it in her to look Adrien Agreste in the eyes and tell him he was too late. She pulled her phone out of her pocket."
> 
> [They stop waiting.]

Adrien didn't talk to Marinette at school on Friday and he made no attempt to contact her on Saturday. Marinette couldn't even bring herself to feel upset about the radio silence; she hadn't been expecting anything different from him. Her chest still ached when she thought of him, but the pain was getting more bearable. She knew her heart still wanted him, but it seemed her head was finally starting to let him go.

 

On Sunday she awoke earlier than usual, with two blonde haired, green eyes boys on her mind. She knew what she had to do. She was going to call Adrien and get an answer from him, one way or another.

 

She'd said she'd give Adrien until Monday, but she couldn't see a point waiting. He'd had all this time and he'd done nothing. He didn't actually love her, and it was taking him over a week to decide if he even wanted to try. That answered her better than words ever could. Besides, if she waited until tomorrow, she'd have to retract her offer in person, and she just wasn't sure she had it in her to look Adrien Agreste in the eyes and tell him he was too late. She pulled her phone out of her pocket.

 

“Do you think I’m making the right choice, Tikki?” Marinette asked.

 

“You deserve an answer, Marinette,” replied Tikki, landing on Marinette’s shoulder for moral support. “This is the right choice.”

 

Marinette took a deep breath and locked eyes with herself in her mirror. Tikki was right. She could do this; she had to. She dialled Adrien’s number, counting the number of rings in an attempt to soothe her rapidly pounding heart.

 

One… Two… Three…

 

"Hi, Marinette," Adrien said quickly as he picked up the phone. Marinette realised that this was the first time he'd spoken to her since she'd asked him out.

 

"H-Hey Adrien," Marinette's voice sounded more breathless than she'd anticipated. She inhaled, forcing air back into her chest. "I was… I was just wondering if you had finished thinking about it yet?"

 

"Marinette, I..." Adrien started, so softly and so gently, and she could already tell where he was going with this. He still couldn’t make up his mind. She felt tears begin to form in her eyes. Being rejected would’ve felt better than this.

 

"I n-need an answer, A-Adrien" she choked out.

 

"Marinette, I'm so sorry," he said. "But I need a bit more time. I just need a few more days. I know that's not fair to you, but there's just this thing I need to work out before I can answer you. I can promise that I will give you an answer by Tuesday."

 

Tuesday. It was so close. But it wasn't enough. It wasn't enough to convince her that he was worth the wait. Besides, she'd promised Chat an answer on Monday and she wasn't going to make the cat wait another week for her answer. That wasn't fair to him. And Adrien wasn't being fair to her.

 

"Adrien, what are you waiting for?" Marinette asked, her voice sounding surprisingly steady, despite the tears.

 

"I... I can't tell you, Marinette," he said. "I'm sorry."

 

Marinette took a deep breath. She was really doing this.

 

"Adrien," she said, almost choking on his name. "I can't wait for you any longer. I won't wait for you any longer."

 

"Marinette..." Adrien started and Marinette heard real emotion in his voice for the first time since she called him. That wasn’t fair. He wasn’t allowed to be emotional about this.

 

"I'm sorry," she said, cutting him off. "But I deserve better than this."

 

“Marinette, wait!”

 

She couldn't believe she was really doing this.

 

"I’ll see you around, Adrien."

 

She could hear his voice on the other end of the line, even as she lowered her phone from her ear and hung it up. She flung her phone into the far corner of her room and threw herself onto her bed, burying her head into the pillow to muffle her sobs.

 

She had known that giving up on Adrien Agreste would never have been easy, but she really hadn't known it would hurt quite this much. She felt a physical ache in her heart as memories of Adrien flooded back to her. She gasped, trying to force air back into her lungs as she cried.

 

She had really done it.

 

She had really given up on the boy she loved.

* * *

 

Ladybug wasn't even surprised when she landed on the Eiffel Tower hours later to find Chat Noir already there, sitting with his legs dangling off the building, eyes staring out over Paris. Chat was so deep in thought he didn't even turn when she landed and moved toward him. She certainly hadn't been expecting to run into her partner that night, but she supposed there was no point in delaying their conversation any longer. She knew what she wanted to say 

 

"Hi, Chaton," Ladybug greeted. Chat leaped to his feet, baton extending instantly as he turned around to face her.

 

"Ladybug!" He exclaimed. "What are you doing here? Is there an Akuma?"

 

"No," Ladybug clarified. "I just wanted to be out tonight.”

 

"Is something wrong?" He asked. "Do you want to be alone?”

 

"No," she said, shaking her head. "Stay, Chat; we need to talk."

 

She sat down and looked out over Paris. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Chat sit back down next to her and gaze in the same direction. She wrung her hands in her lap and shifted her gaze down at them.

 

"I haven't been fair to you," Ladybug started, and she felt him turn to look at her. She couldn’t bring herself to meet his eyes. "And not just because I made you wait this long for an answer. You see, the day you asked me out, I had just worked out the courage to ask out the boy I like. And he hadn't given me an answer by the time you asked me. So I told you I needed time, thinking that if he said no, I could be with you."

 

"Ladybug..." Chat started.

 

"And I know that's not fair," she continued, still unable to bring her eyes to meet his. "It wasn't fair to treat you like a second choice, like a consolation prize. You deserve better, Chat, you deserve so much better than this. But I did have feelings for you. I do have feelings for you. You're my partner and my best friend and I care about you so much and... I like you. It's just, I liked him first, you know? And I just wasn't willing to give him up just yet, if I didn't have to."

 

She took a deep breath.

 

"I decided today neither of us should wait any longer for responses. I was going to tell him that I wasn't going to wait for him any longer, and then come and tell you that I wanted to try something here, with you. Because I honestly think I could be happy with you. But when I called him to call it off, it… it just hurt me so much more than I thought it would. I think he's more than just a crush to me... I think I might be in love with him. And it wouldn't be fair for me to be with you if I'm in love with someone else. You deserve so much more than that. So, I'm so sorry, Chat. I wish I didn’t like him. I almost wish I didn’t know him. I wish that things were different. I wish that..."

 

She trailed off. She didn't know at what point in her rambling she had started crying, but the tears were flowing freely down her face. She couldn't believe at the beginning of the week she had romantic prospects with two boys she liked. Now she wouldn't be able to have either boy. She buried her face in her hands as she tried to stop crying.

 

Next to her, Chat wasn't saying anything, but he also wasn't moving away from her. Ladybug couldn't look at him. She had no idea how much time had passed; it could've been minutes or hours or days that they spent there, halfway up the Eiffel Tower, silently in each other’s presence.

 

"Do you really love him?" Chat asked, finally.

 

Ladybug looked up at the sound of his voice. She could've been wrong, but he didn't sound hurt. He didn't sound as if the girl he liked had just told him she was in love with another and that they couldn't be together. If anything he sounded... hopeful? But that made no sense.

 

"What?" Ladybug asked, turning to finally meet his eyes. There was no trace of sadness in them.

 

"Do you really love him?" Chat repeated, his voice even stronger than before.

 

"I think I do," replied Ladybug, confused at his line of questioning.

 

"I see," said Chat. He turned to face outward before continuing. "I was just wondering because the day I asked you out, I had been asked out by this girl I like. And I told her I needed time, because I wanted to ask you out and if you said no, then I could be with her. That probably wasn't fair, she probably deserved better but I do like her! I was just in love with you. I’m still in love with you. And I just had to know, if I could have you, before I could think about having her."

 

"That seems like a strange coincidence," Ladybug said, voice surprisingly steady for how fast her heart was racing.

 

"It does, doesn't it? But I could maybe write that off as only being coincidence. But today, that girl called me up and told me she wasn't going to wait any longer for me. And I didn't realise how much that would hurt until I heard her say it. In fact, I actually told her to wait, told her I'd date her, told her I'd try something, anything with her as long as it meant I didn’t have to lose her, but she'd already hung up the phone on me. It hurt me so much, you know? I think I underestimated how much I liked her."

 

"Chat..."

 

"And now I'm thinking that maybe the two girls I fell in love with are actually the same girl," Chat continued, finally looking back at her. "And I'm wondering if she might love me too."

 

She thought that he sounded scared. Maybe she only thought that because she felt terrified herself.

 

"I'm going to detransform now," Chat said, his voice steady, but sounding less certain than before. "You still have time to leave or look away if you don’t want to know."

 

She shook her head. She didn’t know what to say or what to think. She just knew she wasn't going anywhere. She had to know. She had to know if he was who she thought he was.

 

"Plagg," he whispered. And then there was a flash of green light, starting at his feet. Her eyes followed the light, from his feet up his body. She knew whose eyes she’d be looking into long before the green light stripped Chat Noir of his mask.

 

"Adrien," Ladybug breathed.

 

Adrien smiled at her, his whole face lighting up in joy. His smile had always been so beautiful to her, but she'd never seen it as beautiful as it was in that moment. Ladybug couldn't help but smile back.

 

"Marinette!" Adrien laughed, her recognition obviously enough to confirm her identity. He pulled her into his arms. "My Lady!"

 

Tikki released her transformation and suddenly Marinette Dupain-Cheng was in the arms of Adrien Agreste, halfway up the Eiffel Tower.

 

"Marinette," said Adrien, pulling back from her. "I'm sorry I made you wait so long. I'm sorry for everything but, please, tell me that I'm not too late. Tell me that I'm not too late for the movies, and for dinner and for playing video games at your house and for everything else. I want to be with you, with both of you. I just hope I'm not too late."

 

Marinette reached out and tentatively placed her hand on Adrien's cheek. He leaned into it instinctively. She smiled.

 

"Adrien, you just gave me the opportunity to be with both of the boys I want to be with," she said. "I'm not turning that down, Chaton."

 

Adrien beamed and she felt her own smile widen in response.

 

"C-Can I kiss you?" Adrien asked.

 

In lieu of an answer, Marinette pulled his face down, bringing her lips up to meet his.

 

In hindsight, asking out Adrien Agreste was probably the best idea Marinette Dupain Cheng had ever had.


End file.
